Purdue Pharma marketed OxyContin as safe — and helped fuel an opioid epidemic

Purdue Pharma, owned by the Sackler family, introduced the painkiller OxyContin in 1996 and marketed it aggressively to doctors, claiming it was less addictive than other opioids because of its slow-release formulation. That claim was misleading: OxyContin was highly addictive, and its aggressive promotion helped fuel a surge in opioid prescriptions and, ultimately, an epidemic of addiction and overdose.

As opioid addiction and overdose deaths soared across the United States, Purdue faced thousands of lawsuits from states, cities and individuals who accused it of deceptive marketing that downplayed the risks of addiction. The company had continued to promote OxyContin even as evidence of its addictiveness and the growing crisis mounted.

In 2020, Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges and agreed to pay more than $8 billion in penalties as part of a settlement. The Sackler family later agreed to pay billions more in a separate settlement, and the company was dissolved. The opioid epidemic has been linked to hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths. The case became a landmark in corporate accountability — a stark example of how aggressive, deceptive marketing of a dangerous product can cause harm on a vast scale.